Tried it for a few weeks, wasn't for me.

[CoconutWater]

I studied for 2 years and busted my ass during undergrad to only realize law school wasn't for me. Dropped out before the deadline to get my tuition money back. Best decision I made in my life 😃

MOD EDIT: please note this OP has admitted they lied and have not, in fact, dropped out.

[CleanHands]

Can I ask the how and why of you deciding this (that early)?

I think this has the potential to be an interesting topic of discussion and could potentially be useful to would-be applicants, but you have to give us a bit more to work with.

[CoconutWater]

16 minutes ago, CleanHands said:

Can I ask the how and why of you deciding this (that early)?

I think this has the potential to be an interesting topic of discussion and could potentially be useful to would-be applicants, but you have to give us a bit more to work with.

Definitely, I don't mind sharing. I just felt out of place. Poor planning on my part. I had this notion of what being a lawyer was ever since I was young, but I never really knew what a lawyer did. I'll admit that I got swayed by watching lawyers on T.V and pressure from my family, so perhaps I tricked myself into believing this is what I wanted. 

Coming from an immigraint blue collar family, I had no connections to explore the legal field. Sure, you can say I could have went to ask a firm to shadow beforehand; but really, what firm is going to waste their time with some random kid of color.

On top of all this, I didn't feel inspired by any of my profs, any of the judges/lawyers who gave speaches at our orientation, and I didn't really see myself working with my fellow peers who, most, seem to come from priviledged backgrounds.

The immense amounts of reading and writing doesn't help either - both of which are not my strong suit. I prefer to do something that caters to my strengths. I'm thinking plumbing or electrical.

[CleanHands]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I do want to say something. Not to challenge you personally on your decision or try to make you second-guess or regret anything. But rather for the benefit of aspiring law students and lawyers who will inevitably stumble upon this thread. And that is that the study and practice of law are two very different animals. Law school is certainly too impractical, too abstract, too academic. This is why taking advantage of law school volunteering opportunities is so important. I had set my expectations low (going to law school at 30 after a lifetime of disappointment and compromises will do that) and I was surprised by some of the files I got to work on and things I got to do before even graduating. Some of it was legitimately the kind of stuff I thought only happened on TV and not in real life (in terms of sympathetic clients and worthy causes). But you have to actively seek this stuff out.

I'll leave the part about the racial and cultural aspects for someone more qualified to address, because if I were any whiter I'd be translucent. Although I certainly don't come from any legal dynasty at least and I have generally been surprised and overwhelmed by how I was welcomed into this field with open arms (but again a huge part of that was having a clear sense of what I wanted to do, diving into it full on, and meeting lawyers who recognized and appreciated passion for their practice area).

Anyways, it's not for everyone. Nothing is. But I hope your next endeavor is a better fit. And it takes courage to recognize when something isn't a fit, especially when it involved hard work and investment to get there, and there is social pressure to stay on the path. Good luck.

[ZukoJD]

Congrats for making such a difficult decision. 

I don’t mean to hijack this but I’ve been considering posting on this topic. 

I’m three weeks in and there are so many aspects of law school that I am rather disliking. I’ve realized first hand how what I’m learning isn’t all that relevant to practice—this is demotivating and annoying considering the effort I’m putting into this. 
 

I sometimes feel like I don’t have the personality type for this either. I’m not the typical A type personality and being surrounded by so many has me trying to fit in. 

I’m an anxious person and the hyper competitive environment has been playing with that anxiety. If I’m not giving close to my best everyday I feel like I’m falling behind and generally failing. 
 

I understand the family pressure as well. My family has given so much to help me get here. That’s weighing on me all the time. 

Anyhow, I’m doing my best to stay motivated given all this. I know practice will be different and I’m hopeful I can find an area I give a damn about. 
 

If anyone was feeling how I am currently and has some advice on how you staved off the cynicism I would appreciate it. I did like Clean Hands’ point about getting involved; I’m currently trying to do so.
 

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by ZukoJD

[Apple]

To OP, I get your decision and I just am providing my comments on the topic for any future applicants or students.

My recommendation from any students considering dropping out, speaking from personal experience, is to give it a semester. I recall in my first weeks of law school feeling completely overwhelmed, like everyone was smarter than me and that my life for the next three years and career duration would be analogous to the discontentment I was going through within the first weeks of law school. I contemplated dropping out and remember sitting in the library looking to see what day I could drop out at the latest and still get my tuition refunded. Law school can be very isolating at first, especially if one gets caught up in the competition of it, and imposter syndrome is real. I felt lost and confused during the first weeks of law school as I was reading stuff that was completely foreign to me (as if it were another language) and did not feel like I could understand the materials enough to be a competent lawyer. I also felt like I would hate practicing law.

However, I recognized that law school was completely new to me and that I needed to give myself some time to adjust to it. So, I gave myself a semester and said if I didn't like it after that I would leave. I promised myself not to compete with others but to just make my time there about learning, regardless of what the grades turned out to be. I made friends, talked with people and really ended up enjoying it. Removing the pressure to compete really relieved a lot of my worries and more or less got rid of imposter syndrome. I didn't care if my peers were smarter than me or appeared to know stuff better than I because I was there to learn and enjoy the experience. It was so relieving and I ended up having a wonderful time. Studying and reading no longer were about some end grade but was simply to learn for the love of learning. My love of learning flourished and grew and I became fascinated with the law and it's quirky rules. Cases became exciting for me to read and I genuinely developed a passion for the topic. Exams came and went and my mindset to do the best I could, without stressing, helped greatly and I did well on exams. 

After that first semester I interviewed at a number of firms and upon being given job offers I knew this was something for me to do. After the first semester I stuck around and the second semester flew by. I felt more comfortable and confident and was thankful I gave myself the chance to give law school a chance. I was actually sad when 1L ended with my last exam being constitutional law. I remember very clearly when the time was over with that exam, I felt happy for having made it to the end of 1L and also sad that it was over. My 2L and 3L years were equally as enjoyable as I settled into this new world I found myself apart of. My 1L and 2L summers were great and showed me just how different practice was from law school. I appreciate both, but am thankful I am finished law school now. 

Law school definitely isn't for everyone and there is nothing wrong with dropping out. You have to do what is genuinely best for you. Don't live for other people and don't let them guilt you into doing so. But, be sure to give it a shot. New stuff is always scary, but sometimes it is worth it and you discover a part of yourself you never knew existed before. I would discourage making a decision within the first weeks of law school because emotions, stress and a whole bunch of other things are high at that time and generally this cocktail of emotions doesn't make for a good decision making process. But, if you're absolutely sure beyond a reasonable doubt then I would say leave before you waste any more money. Otherwise, give it a shot. A semester of law school can really shape you and that in an of itself has value. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Apple

[mistertubby]

thank you for having the courage to do something I fantasize about every day 

[Whist]

As someone also in the new 1L boat, I sympathize with how you feel, but would also like to offer my perspective.

I am overwhelmed. Not because the material is so nebulous I can't understand it at face value, but because the important pieces of the material fall together slowly, and there's so much of it I feel like I'm barely keeping up. It's freaking me out that I'm going to have to somehow remember all this in December, let alone for finals in April. I have a small group of friends thankfully, but I've met a lot of people who I'm just not clicking with. I feel like because I'm so slow at keeping up, I'm going to be a bad lawyer. It makes me wonder if my entire academic path was the wrong choice and I should've gone to trade school instead of university.

However... I recognize that I'm literally three weeks in. I do enjoy reading a lot of these cases and trying to figure them out. I really like my professors. It's an unrealistic burden to put on myself to be good at a brand new skill. If I do ever make the decision to drop out, I told myself I have to finish 1L before considering it. I also told myself not to view it like I'm just doing all this to get a grade and get out, but I'm doing it to learn something very few people on Earth get the chance to. I hope by the Spring, or even mid-winter, that I don't feel so in over my head.

[cherrytree]

I remember people who started in 1L with me who made the decision before the September deadline for full tuition refund. Some of them were international students who paid an even higher sticker price without eligibility for OSAP or other financial aid programs.

The financial pressure of having to make a decision to put yourself in as good of a financial position as can be should not be understated here (UTLaw is an extreme example, but even generally speaking, law school is expensive). Sometimes, toughing it out for a semester or a year to wait for things to get better just isn't an acceptable level of financial risk for some students to bear. Hating law school for an entire semester or a year but shelling out $17K or $34K (semester/full year tuition for a first year international student at UTLaw) for an experience that you hated, plus being out of pocket for other living expenses, would be an enormously difficult position to be in. I appreciate the above discussion about the merits of legal education and such, but the personal finance stakes at issue shouldn't be overlooked. I can't speak to other schools and I could be wrong, but I think at UTLaw the date you find out financial aid office's decision on how much grant/other aid you'd qualify for might be later than the deadline to drop out with full tuition refund.

[123]

2 hours ago, ZukoJD said:

sometimes feel like I don’t have the personality type for this either. I’m not the typical A type personality and being surrounded by so many has me trying to fit in. 

Just briefly on this point. You definitely don’t need to be a type-a extrovert to thrive in law. There’s lots of us quirky introverts who find our niches in the profession. 

The first semester of 1L is socially a-typical. A lot of people showed off. In my year, it settled down after the December exams. 

[Snails and Ales]

33 minutes ago, Whist said:

However... I recognize that I'm literally three weeks in. I do enjoy reading a lot of these cases and trying to figure them out. I really like my professors. It's an unrealistic burden to put on myself to be good at a brand new skill. If I do ever make the decision to drop out, I told myself I have to finish 1L before considering it. I also told myself not to view it like I'm just doing all this to get a grade and get out, but I'm doing it to learn something very few people on Earth get the chance to. I hope by the Spring, or even mid-winter, that I don't feel so in over my head.

This is a great mindset to have, you absolutely shouldn't be expected to be good at a brand new skill right away. You're likely to get better at it over time so long as you work on it (like actually reading your cases), so keep at it. You'll realize what's relevant and what isn't in due course. So for anyone contemplating dropping out particularly because they feel like they don't understand the material, please give it some time. It's still quite early in the game for you to get a handle on things, and your understanding of things like how to read cases often improve over time. 

Dropping out for other reasons is an entirely different story. 

Everyone's circumstances are so unique regarding mental health, finances, family pressure, etc., and deciding whether or not to stay in your program based on these factors is not an easy decision by any means. It's difficult for anyone on this forum to truly tell you what the best course of action would be for these types of situations.

I just want to wish you all the best of luck and I hope you all make the decision that you think is best for yourselves. No regrets. And above all, thanks to everyone who shared their feelings about this issue. 

[GGrievous]

Holy shit am I feeling this thread. If it weren't for the experiential stuff I get to do (which has been incredible already not even a month in), and the people in that group keeping me in the right mindset, Idk if I'd be ready to drop out but I certainly wouldn't be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here. 

 

10 hours ago, CoconutWater said:

I didn't feel inspired by any of my profs

 

This was my biggest shock. Was expecting these inspirational characters and they all honestly sound like they wanna die just as much as I do. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Barry

[CoconutWater]

Thanks everyone, I am still in law school. Yes, I lied about dropping out; I am an attenton/sympathy seeking whore, forgive me. Although, I will say the reasons I stated are geniune and weighed on my mind heavily. Glad to hear others share some of my feelings. Now let's all have a virtual hug and GET THIS SHIT DONE!

[Apple]

10 minutes ago, CoconutWater said:

Thanks everyone, I am still in law school. Yes, I lied about dropping out; I am an attenton/sympathy seeking whore, forgive me. Although, I will say the reasons I stated are geniune and weighed on my mind heavily. Glad to hear others share some of my feelings. Now let's all have a virtual hug and GET THIS SHIT DONE!

Eh, don't appreciate the lie but this forum is nonetheless productive for others. Hopefully more can add their stories and perhaps you can follow up after first semester/1L! 🙂 Good luck this year! 

[123]

16 minutes ago, CoconutWater said:

Yes, I lied about dropping out; I am an attenton/sympathy seeking whore, forgive me. Although, I will say the reasons I stated are geniune and weighed on my mind heavily.

Lol. Why lie? What was the benefit? 

People are fascinating. 

[Rick_C137]

You deserve a virtual slap

[MapleLeafs]

I don't think the feeling of dropping out goes away.. I'm in 2L and with OCIs coming up and being behind in my courses, this is going to be a tough semester to say the least. 

[CoconutWater]

6 minutes ago, Rick_C137 said:

You deserve a virtual slap

Please slap me Daddy, pretty pleaseeee

[GGrievous]

1 hour ago, CoconutWater said:

Yes, I lied about dropping out;

Dude wtf that’s weird 

[Rick_C137]

On a serious note though, I am an applicant and though I take everything I read from unverified sources with a grain of salt, I think what you've done here is counter-productive to the purposes this site offers as a resource for many people. Based on my limited experience around this site, I would likely think that people would have offered you what you were looking without you having resort to lying. Just sayin'

[Hegdis]

Well this got weird. 

OP, next time try to avoid defaulting to lying. It would have been just as easy to say you were considering dropping out. And your infantile reply to being called out is… similarly uncalled for.
 

Locking this but not deleting.